Transformation Tuesday: Powerful Prudie

I’m currently New Jersey bound with a car load of friends on our way to a nutritional education weekend and I am so excited to learn and be with amazing, like-minded people!

I came across this saying a while ago that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with and if that is the case, I am pretty happy with the choices I make and the people I spend my time with day to day.  

I love what I do and being able to help people reach their goals-and I am blessed to be part of a team that is so awesome. I truly feel blessed.

One person on this team of amazing people is my friend, Prudie Duross.

Meet Prudie, age 47. Here’s a bit about this sassy gal…A bit over a year ago, Prudie started using our nutrition program to feel better and drop a few pounds. She reports that she had no energy, “could not get out of her own way” and would be in bed by 7:30 every night. She lacked mental clarity and focus.

Prudie is an accountant and during tax season, she works 60-70 hours per week and is also on the local Fire Department call force. She is also a fire investigator and photographer for the department. So as you can see, a lack of energy and focus could be detrimental to her career!

Once Prudie started her program (which was a nutrition shift with minimal exercise added), within two weeks her energy levels were up and she was feeling great! She was no longer falling asleep in her chair after work, she would now come home and workout, do stuff with her children, get the house cleaned and prepare dinner for the family. After her first 30 days, she was down 17lbs and feeling like a new woman!

In the last year she has lost a total of 55lbs and 78.75 inches!! She has completely transformed her body and improved her quality of life.

I asked Prudie to share a bit with us about her transformation!

What would be your biggest piece of advice to give someone who wants to get started on their own journey?

If someone wants to get started, I would recommend they really need to be fully invested in their journey. Without the right mindset, it is so easy to get derailed by others and your own negative self talk! Talk with family to get them on board with support, especially during the initial few weeks.

What is your favorite moment in your journey?

My favorite moment in my journey was when my daughter took my picture after a year on the program & I put the picture side by side with my before picture. It was not until then that it truly sunk in that I had completely transformed my body composition & metabolism. I could not see what my results truly were when I looked in the mirror. It is so important to take photographs at the beginning of your journey to be able to have the motivation to keep going & to truly document your journey.

If you could go back in time to the "old Prudie" and say just ONE sentence to her, what would it be?

I would tell the "old Prudie" ... You need to make yourself the priority & follow what is in your heart, not what everyone else wants or expects you to do!

What is your favorite meal?

I do genuinely look forward to my breakfast each morning which is almost always egg white omelette with spinach, parmesan cheese, chive & sometimes asparagus or tomatoes, with half a whole grain English muffin w/ all natural peanut butter.

Transformation Tuesday!

I am excited to bring TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY to Miles, Muscles & Mommyhood!! 

Having shared my own story of weight loss has brought so many people into my life that have had similar struggles and successes with overcoming obesity and reaching their health goals. I love the diversity of HOW and WHY and I am so  happy to share these stories with YOU. 

Let me introduce my friend, Jennifer. 

From Jennifer-Today, I got to live my version of a Cinderella story.  I got to tell the girl on the left that her goals of finally being healthy and running a marathon were achieved. I am now at peace with my past so I can live in the now.  All of your dreams can come true if you have the courage to peruse them. ~Walt Disney. 

Jaw dropping, right!!?? Jennifer has lost a staggering 160lbs. This beautiful Mom and Wife is just as pretty on the inside as well. I have been blessed to get to know Jennifer though mutual friends and the power of social media. I am HONORED to share her story!

In her own words:

My challenges with my weight started at a very early age. I can remember being on a diet as early as second grade. I was active as a child however so that slowed down the inevitable weight gain to a degree. By the time I graduated high school however my weight was in the 200's. When high school was done so were the sports and dance. The weight came on even faster. I tried every diet there was, TWICE. That was before I realized that diets don't work. I rode that roller coaster for years. Taking off ten or fifteen pounds and putting back on twenty or more. I did not have any health issues at this point but I dreamed of more. I desperately wanted to run and feel good. I also longed to wear the beautiful clothes that my counter parts were wearing in management for a professional hair care company. At the age of 28 I had enough. I was just over three hundred pounds and fed up. Was this really living I asked myself?! I had found my breaking point...

This is when it all clicked. If I wanted what I had never had, then I had to do what I had never done. I broke up with fast food as well as Ben and Jerry's. I started eating vegetables and fruit. (The joke at the salon that I had worked at was that I hated salad.Turns out it's delicious. Who knew?!) I started making some swaps (lean chicken or egg beaters vs pizza or cereal) and I also started walking. The walking turned to a run/walk and then a very slow jog. In about six months I had taken off fifty pounds. By the end of a year I had taken off one hundred pounds. In eleven years I have taken off and kept off, a little over one hundred and sixty pounds. I enjoy eating clean and running. It was not always easy. I have had many times that I had to remind myself why this was important to me. Now that I am here at a healthier me and I look back, I can truly see that every tear shed and every moment of frustration was not for nothing. Those times of my life built me. They made me strong enough to dare to run that marathon and to not back down when the going gets tough. It is so true that anything is possible when you just believe.

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1. What would be your biggest piece of advice to give someone who wants to get started on their own journey?

Surround yourself with like minded people and lots of motivation. You will need a good support system which other healthy people in your life will provide. Someone to get you active on the day that it's a challenge or to share a new healthy recipe they just tried. 

The other piece of advice is motivation. SURROUND yourself with it! A Pinterst page, Facebook pages, follow blogs and make a vision board. A vision board is photos and words of what "healthy" means to you. Mine is inside a kitchen cupboard door with motivation and goals. Thinking of snacking, just look in that cupboard. 😊 All of this will keep you inspired when the going gets tough and that will be huge in your success.

2. What is your favorite moment in your journey?

Actually that would be the moment captured in the photo. When I was overweight as a child two of my teachers were running marathons. I always ached inside to someday be healthy enough to run one. I am so thankful for the photographer that captured the moment that I made that dream come true. I am crying happy tears there.It is still surreal to me.

3. If you could go back in time to the "old Jenn" and say just ONE sentence to her, what would it be?

"Your tears of despair will be 

replaced by tears of triumph."

4. What is your favorite workout?

This is tough for me to pick! I love Boot Camp and it has brought my life and fitness to a level I never thought possible but I have to go with running. That dream is what kept me going along the journey. Starting as a run/walk, running that first mile then my first 5k, 10k, half marathon and then the Dopey Challenge in January. Running puts me in the right head space. To remember how far I've come and to dream about what's next. Running saved me.

5. What is your favorite meal?

Almond flax chicken (marinated in olive oil, almond butter, lemon and spices) and roasted brussel sprouts. Yummy!!!!